A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for providing change of address services to a customer. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods for collecting and processing change of address data and providing change of address services to a postal customer using a computer network.
B. Description of the Related Art
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent government agency that provides mail delivery and other services to the public. The USPS delivers mail using a recipient's address on a mailpiece. If the address is incomplete or incorrect, mail delivery is delayed, and the USPS incurs labor and financial costs in forwarding the mailpiece to the correct address. Inaccurate addresses adversely affect the postal customer, the USPS, and the mailing industry.
Approximately forty million postal customers move each year, and each move may require a change in a postal customer's mailing address. Traditionally, a moving postal customer must complete, sign, and submit a change of address form to the USPS. The change of address form cannot be processed until the postal customer signs the form, because the signature provides authorization and orders the USPS to forward the customer's mail to the new address. Because this process relies on a physical form, it is labor intensive. The customer must sign the form and mail or carry it to a post office. USPS personnel must manually process the form, including data entry of the change of address information.
It is therefore desirable to enable postal customers to receive mail forwarding services and to notify potential mailers of a new address in a fast, efficient, and accurate manner. At the same time, moreover, it is desirable to preserve the identity validation and authorization of the customer.